To kill a myth, museum has letter to disprove it

March 04, 2006|By Mike Marshall, Newhouse News Service

MONROEVILLE, Ala. — A letter from Truman Capote to a relative in Monroeville appears to debunk a myth that Capote contributed to the writing of "To Kill a Mockingbird," the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee.

The letter from Capote to an aunt, Mary Ida Carter, is dated July 9, 1959, almost a year before "To Kill a Mockingbird" was released by J.B. Lippincott on July 11, 1960.

"Yes, it is true that Nelle Lee is publishing a book," Capote wrote in the final paragraphs about Nelle Harper Lee, the author's birth name. "I did not see Nelle last winter, but the previous year, she showed me as much of the book as she'd written, and I liked it very much. She has real talent."

"There was kind of a goofy assertion going around," said Claudia Durst Johnson, former chairwoman of the English department at the University of Alabama. "I don't know where it came from."

The myth is that Lee capitalized on her longtime friendship with Capote after Lippincott initially rejected "To Kill a Mockbingbird" in 1957 because it read like a series of short stories. Her inability to produce a follow-up book fueled speculation that Capote helped with the novel.

"I think anyone who has read `Mockingbird' or Capote can see there are vastly different attitudes, styles and voices," said Johnson. "I never had the least doubt that he had anything to do with it."

The letter became public after Jennings Carter, Capote's cousin, gave it to the Monroe County Heritage Museums.